Premium Fuel (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Feb 25, 2007
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16
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255
Location
bat country
hey i was just wondering, does anyone know (like with some reasonable evidence) just how neccisary the high octain "requirement" is? i know that using lower grade fuel will decrease my performance, but i'm curious as to weather or not it would be harmful to use regular unleaded. Some places super unleaded isint readily available. also if theres nothing to sacrifice but a few HP i think its more cost effective to use regular, its not like the FJ is underpowered.
 
Purchased 10 months ago - have always used regular unleaded. During several road trips including a trip from Texas to Yellowstone, have averaged 19 - 20 mpg running at or slightly above the speed limit. No pings or loss of power noticed.
 
i buy the cheapest gas I can find. never have any problems, and I average about 19-20 highway.
 
talked with a guy this weekend who ran midgrade on a 2200 mile trip and got 22mpg....not bad IMO....
 
My wife runs cheap gas without any problems, but I put midgrade in and got noticeable power increases.

A modern engine runs high compression ratios without having spark knock because it sees spark knock and adjusts timing until it goes away.

Midgrade or premium allows the engine to advance the timing as far as possible for the best possible performance.

It doesn't make much difference at all on my 80, even with the ignition timing base turned up to 12 degrees. On a FJC it makes a significant difference.

Paying 10 cents a gallon over 18 gallons costs $1.80 on a $40 fill up. Sounds like penny wise, pound foolish to run the cheap stuff. Especially if you get part of that back in increased mpg.

10% better fuel mileage for 2.5% more money? Sounds like a no brainer.
 
Sorry to bring this back up, but I did not know that the FJC needed premium. Why is that? The Tacoma I'm looking at only requires regular, and as far as I know, they both have the same 4.0 V6 engines rated at the same HP figures.

EDIT: Ok, I guess the FJC is rated at 239/278 HP/TQ, and the Tacoma is at 236/266. FJC also achieves peak torque at a lower RPM. I'd still rather not have the premium requirement for 3 more HP and 12 FT/LB TQ.
 
Sorry to bring this back up, but I did not know that the FJC needed premium. Why is that? The Tacoma I'm looking at only requires regular, and as far as I know, they both have the same 4.0 V6 engines rated at the same HP figures.

EDIT: Ok, I guess the FJC is rated at 239/278 HP/TQ, and the Tacoma is at 236/266. FJC also achieves peak torque at a lower RPM. I'd still rather not have the premium requirement for 3 more HP and 12 FT/LB TQ.

Put regular unleaded in the FJC and you will get the same figures quoted for the Tacoma. Toyota issues a disclaimer for the Tacoma, just like they do for all of their models with the V6 engine - "For improved vehicle performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended."

The 4.0L is the same in both 2007 Tacoma and FJC.
 
I don't know why people get hung up on paying for premium. The price difference realistically only hurts in your head, not the wallet. You only notice because it's spelled out in 1ft tall letters as you pull in. My wife's car is the only one of 4 vehicles we have that runs 87. I've got 2 on 89 and 1 on 91. The price difference is almost unnoticable. Pass on the candy bar and 4 gallon Coke and you'll even out. Not to mention your engine will benefit from the additional detergents found in premium fuel.

The power, mileage, and possible longevity gains are worth the minor upcharge.
 
there are no extra detergents in premium grade. for example, chevron has the same techron in all grades. the only diff. between brands is the additives

the difference between octane levels is that lower grade detonates more easily - releases energy more easily. it is not 'better' gas.

I'm not sure you would get improved mpg's across the board w/ higher octane? maybe it depends on the type of driving, altitude, ambient temps, etc

i didn't notice much difference if at all w/ the 1GR-FE in socal w/ 87 or 91. On trips I always tried to use 91 b/c I figure there is more need for 'max possible performance'
 
there are no extra detergents in premium grade. for example, chevron has the same techron in all grades. the only diff. between brands is the additives

the difference between octane levels is that lower grade detonates more easily - releases energy more easily. it is not 'better' gas.

I'm not sure you would get improved mpg's across the board w/ higher octane? maybe it depends on the type of driving, altitude, ambient temps, etc

i didn't notice much difference if at all w/ the 1GR-FE in socal w/ 87 or 91. On trips I always tried to use 91 b/c I figure there is more need for 'max possible performance'

I worked for Chevron for 21 years. There IS more Techron in Chevron PUL, than in MUL and RUL. Same additive package, just more detergents and higher octane.

DEWFPO
 
A misconeption I am seeing..... The engine in the FJC does not "require" premium. But, it is recommended since the engine was tuned to maximum performance on 91 octane by the Toyota engineers. It will run just fine on 87 octane since the ECM will retard timing and adjust fuel based on input from the knock sensors.

And most are correct in saying that driving habits, weather, vehicle condition, terrain, altitude etc... will have more of an effect on mpg than octane alone, but it will indeed have some incemental effect.

DEWFPO
 
I worked for Chevron for 21 years. There IS more Techron in Chevron PUL, than in MUL and RUL. Same additive package, just more detergents and higher octane.

DEWFPO

having worked for cheveron you also probably know taht everybody puts gas in the same pipelines and pull out the same ones so cheveron, exxon, hess, mom&pop its all the same save for the octane ratings. and if mom&pop add water to their gas. :rolleyes:

americans are so brand conscious... bah.
 
having worked for cheveron you also probably know taht everybody puts gas in the same pipelines and pull out the same ones so cheveron, exxon, hess, mom&pop its all the same save for the octane ratings. and if mom&pop add water to their gas. :rolleyes:

americans are so brand conscious... bah.

You are mostly correct, except you forget that each brand ADDS their own additive package once out of the pipeline. So, Octane and additive package differentiate brands.

DEWFPO
 
even still the additives have to be so minimal so as not to affect perfomance taht they register as trace ammounts anyway.
 
even still the additives have to be so minimal so as not to affect perfomance taht they register as trace ammounts anyway.

I think DEWFPO is simply offering you the facts of his experience, not trying to convert anyone to Chevron or PUL fuel. The short and long of it is - if you are happy with subpar performance, use RUL or MUL. If you want to use the engine as it was designed, then spend a few pennies more and buy PUL. Many people on this forum are constantly seeking ways of increasing performance. One way to start is by using PUL.
 
You are mostly correct, except you forget that each brand ADDS their own additive package once out of the pipeline. So, Octane and additive package differentiate brands.

DEWFPO


I guy I knew was a Shell Tanker Delivery guy, and one day I saw hime delivering at a "no-name" station. He basically confirmed what DEWFPO says. To do Shell Deliveries he adds the additive package when he loads it on the tanker. So if he goes on a Shell run, it gets the Shell add-pack. If it goes generic, it gets just the adds that are in it in the big tank. I had assumed prior they were all the same, but I guess there are differences. For whatever reason, 99% of the gas I buy is Chevron.
 

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